Crystal Leach is the senior director of corporate engagement at the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute, where she leads strategic industry partnerships that create value across campus. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, she directed corporate engagement at New York University, advancing research and innovation collaborations. She served three years as a rotating program officer at the National Science Foundation as a program director in the Industry–University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) program. 

From 2016 to 2021, Leach was at the University of Georgia, where she founded the Office of Industry Collaborations and helped grow the university’s innovation ecosystem. Her efforts included serving as a business mentor for the NSF I-Corps program, supporting professional development for graduate students pursuing nonacademic careers, and launching the university’s first Innovation Bootcamp focused on women entrepreneurs. 

Earlier in her career, Leach spent 18 years in research and development at Kimberly-Clark, a Fortune 500 global health and hygiene company, leading teams that brought more than 25 medical products to global markets. She holds four U.S. and European patents and is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. She earned degrees in chemical and biomedical engineering from the University of Akron and a doctorate in textiles and polymer science from Clemson University.